News in Short

• Japan's space agency has retrieved a capsule, which is carrying asteroid samples that could explain the origin of life, from a remote area of southern Australia.
• Hayabusa2 had successfully released the small capsule and sent it toward Earth to deliver samples from a distant asteroid Ryogu.
• Hayabusa2 left the asteroid Ryugua year ago. After it released the capsule, it moved away from Earth towards a new expedition to another distant asteroid.

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will skip Canada-led meetings on the coronavirus pandemic amid the fresh row between the two nations over remarks made by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on the ongoing farmers' protest in India.
• Jaishankar had participated in a virtual meet last month of the Ministerial Coordination Group of Covid-19 (MCGC), led by Canadian foreign minister Francois-Phillippe Champagne.
• With the remarks made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the farmers' protest, Indian administration is unhappy with the "ill-informed" and "unwarranted" comments that could impact bilateral relations between India and Canada.

• Pfizer India has become the first pharmaceutical firm to seek from DCGI an emergency use authorisation for its coronavirus vaccine in the country.
• Pfizer has sought permission to import the vaccine for sale and distribution in the country, besides waiver of clinical trials on Indian population in accordance with the special provisions under the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019.
• The extreme low temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius required for storing the vaccine poses a big challenge for its delivery in a country like India, especially in its smaller towns and rural areas where maintaining such cold chain facilities would be very difficult.

• US President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw troops from its bases in Somalia, as the regime enters its final month in power.
• Somalia's fragile internationally backed government is due to hold parliamentary elections this month and national elections in early February.
• U.S. troops have been in Somalia, mostly supporting Somali special forces known as Danab in operations against al Shabaab, whose attacks in nations like Kenya and Uganda have killed hundreds of civilians, including Americans.

• Veteran actor Ravi Patwardhan, best known for starring in the Marathi show Aggabai Sasubai and 1980s Hindi films like Tezaab and Ankush, has passed away.
• Having worked in over 200 films and 150 plays, Ravi Patwardhan had gained popularity with his diverse roles through the career.
• Ravi Patwardhan had also acted in several plays and featured in around 200 films, including Yeshwant (1997) in Hindi, and Marathi features like Asha Asavya Sun (1981), Umbartha (1982), Jhanjaar (1987), and Jyotiba Phule, a 2019 Marathi langauge show.